A.D. 566.

ETHELBERT REIGNS IN KENT.

267

a voyage that lasted seven years, went to the Fortunate Islands, and saw many things worth relating. And he had a disciple Machutus, who was completely educated by him, and who was the companion of his voyage, and who was very eminent in Britain for his miracles and holiness. And he, being provoked by the Britons, cursed them, and went over to Gaul, where he flourished, and was very eminent for virtue, living under the protection of Leontius, bishop of Guienne. And as, by reason of his curse, the Britons became afflicted with many disasters, he subsequently healed them by giving them his blessing, and absolved them. About the same time, Sampson, archbishop of the Dolensians, and successor of the holy Sampson, who crossed over from the Greater Britain to the Lesser, was eminent for learning and holiness.

A.D. 562. A mountain in Gaul, on the river Rhone, bellowed for many days, and was at length driven from its place by another mountain, and with the churches, and buildings, and men, and beasts that were on it, was precipitated into the river. A.D. 563. Priscian, the grammarian and orator, a subdeacon, who turned the Acts of the Apostles into hexameter verse, flourished at Rome. There flourished at the same time Fortunatus, an eminent man, of illustrious genius, of acute discernment and pleasing eloquence, who came from Italy to Tours, and wrote an account of the acts of the blessed Martin in heroic metre, in four books. And, removing from thence, he was made bishop of Poictiers.

A.D. 564. After the death of Clothaire, king of the Franks, his four sons divided the kingdom between them; and the eldest of them, named Chilperic, reigned twenty-three years.

A.D. 565. Justin the younger obtained the empire of Rome, and reigned twelve years. In this year also there were seen many signs in the sun and moon.

A.D. 566. John was appointed to the Roman chair, and occupied it twelve years, eleven months, and twenty-seven days. And the see was vacant ten months and three days. The same year, Saint Columbus flourished, who came from Scotland into Britain. The same year, Ethelbert, son of Ermeric, succeeded to the kingdom of Kent, and governed it with great vigour for fifty-six years. He was the most powerful of all the kings of England, and extended the boundaries of his empire as far as the river Humber, by which the people

of the north are divided from those of the south, and ruled the inhabitants of all those provinces with great nobleness.

A.D. 567. On the death of Adda, king of the Bernicians, Glappa succeeded to the kingdom, and reigned five years. The same year, fiery spears were seen in the air, portending the irruption of the Lombards into Italy.

A.D. 568. Ceauline, king of the west Saxons, and Cutha, his brother, united their forces, and made war upon Ethelbert, king of Kent. And two counts, the allies of Ethelbert, were slain, and he himself was put to flight.

A.D. 569. Glappa, king of the Bernicians, died, and Theobald reigned in his stead, and was king for one year. A.D. 570. Fretheulfus became king of the Bernicians, and reigned seven years. The same year, the people of Armenia adopted the faith of Christ, and the abbot Wandregisilus was born.

A.D. 571. One cycle of the sacred passover of four hundred and twenty-two years since our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified; in the seventh indiction, the five thousand and seventyfifth year after the creation of the world, according to the Greeks. Affa was at this time the king of east Anglia.

A.D. 572. Gregory was ordained bishop of Tours, and was esteemed very eminent for his piety.

A.D. 573. The Spaniards and the Gauls differed about the celebration of Easter; as the Spaniards celebrated it on the twenty-first of March, and the Franks on the eighteenth of April. But it was proved, by divine interposition, that the Franks were the more correct as to the days, because the fountains in Spain, for the purpose of baptism, which had been accustomed to be filled on the sabbath of the sacred passover by divine agency, became filled, not on the passover of the Spaniards, but on that of the Franks.

A.D. 574. The following circumstance happened: Albinus, king of the Lombards, had formerly slain in battle his wife's father Cunimund, king of the Gepidæ, and had made a drinking cup for himself out of his skull. And as one day he gave it to his wife to drink out of, saying, "Drink with your father," she, being inflamed with womanly fury, procured him to be assassinated by his armour-bearer.

A.D. 575. Benedict became pope, and sat in the Roman chair four years, six months, and seventeen days. He was the

A.D. 582.

GREGORY SENT TO CONSTANTINOPLE.

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pope from whom Gregory received permission to depart and preach to the Angles, but he was afterwards recalled, as the people behaved tumultuously, and was ordained the seventh Levite.

A.D. 576. A famine attacked Rome, and many of the Romans fled to the Lombards. But Tiberius, who was afterwards emperor, sent a quantity of corn from Egypt, and delivered Rome from scarcity.

A.D. 577. Tiberius obtained the Roman empire, and reigned seven years. And as he was very liberal to the poor, God permitted him to find many treasures. The same year, Fretheulph, king of the Bernicians, died, and Theodoric succeeded him, and reigned seven years.

A.D. 578. Saint Germanus, bishop of Paris, by his death went to adorn the heavenly regions. The same year, Aurelius Conan, king of the Britons, died, and Vortiper succeeded him, and reigned three years. And he, being an enemy of the Saxons, triumphed gloriously over them several times.

The same year, after Uffa, king of the East Angles, from whom the kings of that province are called Uffingi, Titillus, his son, succeeded to the kingdom. And Titillus was the father of Redwald, who was the tenth in descent from Woden.

A.D. 579. Pelagius became pope. He occupied the Roman chair ten years, eight months, and ten days. And the see was vacant six months and twenty-five days.

A.D. 580. Fire was seen to run along the heaven. About this period, there were continual irruptions of the Britons and Saxons into one another's territories. For Ceaulinus took Bedcanford castle, which is now called Bedford; and other fortresses also, namely, Lienbury, Aylesbury, Bensington, Henesham, Gloucester, Cirencester, and Bath. And his name became very illustrious.

A.D. 581. Pope Pelagius determined that nine prefaces only ought to be sung at mass, and abolished the daily sentences which were used to be repeated. The same year, Vortiper, king of the Britons, died, and was succeeded by Malgo, a most excellent man, eminent for his orthodoxy, valiant in arms, and excessively liberal; but being enervated by the disease of Sodom, he made himself odious to God and men. He also reduced six islands of the ocean, which joined his province, under his dominion.

A.D. 582. Gregory the teacher was sent by pope Pelagius to

Constantinople, and composed books of morals on Job, and also, in the presence of the emperor in that city, confuted Eutychius, the bishop of Constantinople, who advanced erroneous dogmas about the resurrection of the dead, and affirmed that in the glory of that resurrection the human body would come impalpable to the winds, and more subtle than air. And when Eutychius died soon after, he utterly put down his opinions. A.D. 583. At Tours, real blood flowed from the head of the altar when broken.

A.D. 584. Tiberius Cæsar, having gone mad and died, was succeeded by Mauritius, who reigned twenty-two years. The same year, Ceauline, king of the West Saxons, and his brother Cuthwine, fought a battle with the Britons at Frithculey, where Cuthwine was severely wounded and killed. Therefore, the Angles were conquered and put to flight.

A.D. 585. The kingdom of Mercia took its rise, and Creodda was its first king: so that all the kingdoms of the Angles or Saxons were by this time began, and they are eight in number, namely, the kingdom of Kent, the metropolis of which is the city of Canterbury. The kingdom of the South Saxons, that is, Sussex, the metropolis of which is the city of Chichester. The kingdom of the East Saxons, that is Essex, the metropolis of which is the city of London. The kingdom of the East Angles, that is, East Anglia, the chief city of which is Norwich. The kingdom of the West Saxons, or Occidental Saxons, the metropolis of which is the city of Wentana, which is now called Winchester. The kingdom of Mercia, or Middle Anglia, the chief city of which is Doncaster, but now Lincoln. And the kingdom of Northumberland, the chief city of which is York. And this last kingdom was divided into two parts, as has been said above.

CH. X.

FROM A.D. 586 тo A.D. 621.

-The Britons retreat to Wales and to CornwallThe whole island of Britain obtains the name of AngliaGregory becomes Pope-Saint Augustine is sent to England -The English become Christians—The Church of Rome is declared the chief of all churches-Death of EthelbertWar between the different kings in England - Chosroes king of Persia.

A.D. 586. Caretius, a lover of civil wars, and a man hated

A.D. 586. THE CHURCHES DESTROYED BY THE BRITONS. 271

by both gods and Britons, succeeded Malgo, king of the Britons. And the before-mentioned kings, those, that is to say, of the Angles and Saxons, being aware of his inconsiderable character, united and rose in insurrection against him, and after many battles drove him from city to city, till at last, after a severe battle, they drove him across the Severn into Wales. And the clergy and the priests were all driven out of the country, swords flashing on every side, and flames crackling in the churches in every direction. Therefore the remnant of the Britons retreated into the western parts of the island, that is, into Cornwall and Wales, abandoning the greater portion of the island; and from thence they made frequent and fatal attacks on their enemies without intermission. Then the archbishops, Theonus, archbishop of London, and Thadiocus, archbishop of York, seeing all the churches, which were under their government, levelled with the ground, fled with many of the ordained clergy who had survived the perils of those times, and with the relics of the saints, into Wales, fearing lest, by the irruption of such numerous and terrible hosts of barbarians, the holy bones might be effaced from the recollection of men, if they did not withdraw them from the impending danger. A great many people also fled to Armorican Britain (Brittany), and abandoned the whole church of two provinces, namely, Loegria and Northumberland, which were thus stripped of their convents and left desolate.

Some, however, of the bodies of the saints which lay reverently concealed in burying places, they covered with mounds of earth, to prevent them from exposure to the contempt of unbelievers. For the most valiant kings of the Angles and Saxons were most atrocious pagans, who thirsted for nothing more than to utterly subvert Christ and the worship of Christians. For if any church remained unhurt after the district was subjugated, it tended more to the confusion of the name of Christ than to his glory. For these unbelievers made there thirty temples to their own gods, and polluted the holy altars of God with their profane sacrifices. Therefore, the Britons abandoning the crown of the kingdom for many ages, that is to say, till the time of Cadwallon, whom Bede calls Cedwallus, never ceased from attacking uninterruptedly with civil wars that part of the country which remained to them, and which was subject not to one king, but to their tyrants.